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We Are Devoted To The Battle Against Corruption: Bawumia Declares

Published

2 years ago

13/12/2022

According to the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the government is providing resources to all anti-corruption organizations to aid in the battle against corruption.

To that effect, Dr. Bawumia iterated that budgetary allocations for state organizations have recently grown, including those like the Office of the Special Prosecutor, the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), as well as the Ghana Police Service.

Interestingly, Dr. Bawumia asserted that, in contrast to what the opposition has claimed, the administration is committed to combating corruption while speaking at the 2022 Annual District Auditors Conference in Accra.

“To further boost the fight against corruption, deficits in logistics and personnel of the law enforcement agencies like the Ghana Police Service and other accountability institutions are being addressed, in fact, we have increased them significantly,” Dr. Bawumia iterated.

The Vice President made this statement in response to CHRAJ’s assertion last week that the commission has frequently been rendered powerless to enforce Chapter 24 of the 1992 Constitution, which is concerned with the Code of Conduct for public servants.

Public officials must adhere to oaths, avoid conflicts of interest, and disclose their assets and liabilities upon taking office, according to the Code of Conduct.

Sadly enough, the clause is frequently ignored, though, which CHRAJ says encourages corruption in the public sector.

However, CHRAJ is optimistic that this issue would be resolved by the yet-to-be-passed conduct of Public Officers Bill (CoPO).

Speaking at a celebration for the 2022 International Anti-Corruption Day, Commissioner of CHRAJ Joseph Whittal bemoaned the fact that the bill has been in the works for three years and has yet to receive Cabinet approval.

“No one can deny the importance of a code of ethics for public officers in the fight against corruption. Indeed, allegations of non-compliance with Chapter 24 of the Constitution, especially conflict of interest, and non-declaration of assets and liabilities continue to dominate the media space. We all know what is happening.

“This year alone, the Commission received a record number of cases bordering on non-compliance and contravention of Chapter 24 of the Constitution. And we are currently investigating same,” Mr. Whittal asserted.